Re: Any tips for plastic working.

[Keith Doxey <ukha@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Quoting Stuart Grimshaw <stuart.grimshaw@xxxxxxx>:

> I have an LCD display that I bought years ago, that I would like to
> mount in a plastic single backbox faceplate.
>
> Does anyone have any tips for cutting a straight line in plastic? What
> do you use to do it?
>
> How do you smooth off the edges so that they remain straight, I find
> that the dremmel melts the plastic and leaves a non-straight edge, a
> nasty black burn mark and a nasty smell too.
>

Hi Stuart.

I use a router and a homemade jig for holding and guiding the router.

http://www.diyha.co.uk/images/routing_jig.jpg

Apologies for the crap photo but I am not a very good photographer and that
was
taken 4 years ago with my old camera which never did very good close ups!

The hole in the MDF is several millimetres larger than the finished cut and
the
follow guide on the router runs along that. I have successfully used it on
both
hard and soft plastic faceplates without chipping or melting the plastic.

Although the jig takes a little time to make you can test the cut on scraps
of
mdf, hardboard etc until you have the template right then create your
faceplate
first time. The added advantage of using the template is you can then churn
out
several more very quickly with no measurements required :-)

I have also used a router for perspex as well. If you dont have a router,
put
one on the shopping list. Wouldnt be without it now.

Hope that helps.

BTW. dont forget the eyeshields !!!!!

Keith

www.diyha.co.uk
www.kat5.tv